Gtech

The state today selected a Rhode Island corporation to supply a new computer system for the state lottery. The system is projected to cost about $61 million over five years.GTECH Corp.'s winning bid was more than $20 million below the only other bidder, Control Data Corp., a New Jersey company that now runs the lottery system.Two separate committees appointed by Gov. William Donald Schaefer both recommended GTECH. Charles Benton Jr., state budget secretary, said he would recommend GTECH to the state Board of Public Works for final approval within the next few weeks.

Maryland officials are poised to approve a $21.5 million contract to set up the central operating system for the state's slot machine program to a company that has been accused of questionable practices in other states and countries and at one time was connected to a scandal here. The Board of Public Works, a three-member panel that includes Gov. Martin O'Malley, plans to consider the contract with GTECH Corp. today. The five-year agreement, which could be extended another five years for $17.4 million, is considered vital to launching the slots program.

Maryland officials are poised to approve a $21.5 million contract to set up the central operating system for the state's slot machine program to a company that has been accused of questionable practices in other states and countries and at one time was connected to a scandal here. The Board of Public Works, a three-member panel that includes Gov. Martin O'Malley, plans to consider the contract with GTECH Corp. today. The five-year agreement, which could be extended another five years for $17.4 million, is considered vital to launching the slots program.

Maryland officials are poised to approve a $21.5 million contract to set up the central operating system for the state's slot machine program to a company that has been accused of questionable practices in other states and countries and at one time was connected to a scandal here. The Board of Public Works, a three-member panel that includes Gov. Martin O'Malley, plans to consider the contract with GTECH Corp. today. The five-year agreement, which could be extended another five years for $17.4 million, is considered vital to launching the slots program.

Things have been a bit grim in recent months at GTECH Holdings Corp., a maker of computerized lottery systems.In December, federal prosecutors were reported to be investigating a contract to the company from Maryland. Last month, GTECH stock sank when New Jersey officials postponed approval of keno, one of the company's most profitable lottery systems.Days later, the stock slid an additional 12 percent when California decided to review its bidding process before renewing a GTECH contract.

Maryland's lottery and horse racing businesses -- competitors for the state's gambling dollars -- could end up sharing a common supplier of wagering equipment.GTech Corp. of Providence, R.I., said yesterday that it had signed a letter of intent to purchase AmTote International Inc., the Hunt Valley-based subsidiary of General Instrument Corp., which provides and services pari-mutuel wagering systems to xTC about 100 horse and dog tracks worldwide.AmTote has about 300 employees at its headquarters and an additional 630 workers across the country and overseas.

GTECH Corp. yesterday laid off about 30 workers at its newly acquired AmTote International unit in Hunt Valley, but the company denied reports it has decided to move most of the Maryland operation to Boca Raton, Fla.GTECH spokesman Robert Rendine said yesterday's cuts were an expected consequence of AmTote's weak performance in recent years and duplication of functions between AmTote and GTECH's home office in West Greenwich, R.I.He said similar cuts had...

More than $450,000 in legal bills accumulated by convicted lobbyist Bruce C. Bereano during his federal fraud case have been paid by GTECH Corp., a former client that won a controversial $49 million state lottery contract in 1992 with Mr. Bereano's help.It was the GTECH contract that prompted federal authorities to begin investigating Mr. Bereano three years ago.Asked yesterday why the company would foot such a hefty legal bill, Mr. Bereano said: "I think you know the answer to that. I was being investigated and indicted because of my representation and services on their behalf."

GTECH Holdings Corp. is expected to announce Monday that it has sold its Maryland-based AmTote International division to a private concern backed at least in part by local investors, a union official said yesterday.GTECH has been trying to sell AmTote -- which employs roughly 500 people nationwide and makes, leases and maintains racetrack betting equipment -- for almost a year.Yesterday, it was close to completing a sale to a company tied to the people who own Baltimore-based manufacturer Clendenin Brothers Inc., said Dion F. Guthrie, president of a union local that represents AmTote workers.

GTECH Corp. plans to lay off workers at its newly acquired AmTote International division in Hunt Valley, and said yesterday that it was considering moving at least part of the 250-worker operation to Florida."

The company that is scheduled to begin operating Maryland's lottery Aug. 19 has fixed the vast majority of the software glitches that forced a four-week delay of its takeover, a state lottery official said yesterday.Edward R. Perry, deputy director of the State Lottery Agency, expressed confidence that Automated Wagering International Inc. of Atlanta would be able to take over from incumbent GTECH Corp. without further delays.But he also said the agency has made contingency plans in case AWI's problems are not fixed.

The beleaguered company that was scheduled to take over Maryland's lottery games next month told state officials yesterday it needs an extra 28 days to get ready.The request for a delay came after the company, Automated Wagering International Inc. -- which recently was fired by Arizona's lottery for poor performance -- delivered flawed software to Maryland this month, a state lottery official said.At a hastily called meeting in Annapolis, top state legislators greeted news of the request nervously and, in some cases, angrily.

A WHIFF OF scandal, a hint of mystery. It must be lottery time. Depending on which side you believe, Maryland's new contract to run the daily lottery games is either on the verge of becoming a debacle or the losing bidder is trying to stir up trouble.Much is riding on this $43 million contract. Given that Maryland reaps $410 million a year from its lottery activities, a botched transition would cost taxpayers dearly. The new operator, too, stands to suffer mightily if there is a foul-up. Automated Wagering International is now the Avis of the lottery-gaming world, but if its Maryland venture flops, the company may never recover.

STATE LAWMAKERS are rightly concerned about the State Lottery Agency's transition to a new computer system next month, when AWI Inc. succeeds GTECH Corp. as the contractor running the lottery games. AWI, after all, just lost its Arizona lottery contract over allegations of poor performance. Will that happen here?The legislature's fiscal analysts indicated there might be problems. But the evidence turned out to be superficial at a hearing this week. It badly misled state lawmakers, who thought (incorrectly)

GTECH Holdings Corp. is expected to announce Monday that it has sold its Maryland-based AmTote International division to a private concern backed at least in part by local investors, a union official said yesterday.GTECH has been trying to sell AmTote -- which employs roughly 500 people nationwide and makes, leases and maintains racetrack betting equipment -- for almost a year.Yesterday, it was close to completing a sale to a company tied to the people who own Baltimore-based manufacturer Clendenin Brothers Inc., said Dion F. Guthrie, president of a union local that represents AmTote workers.

The company that will be taking over Maryland's $1 billion-a-year lottery business is having big troubles in Arizona, where persistent glitches have marred its first few months of running that state's lottery.The problems have worried the treasurer of Kentucky, where a lottery contract with the company is pending, and prompted speculation about what is in store for Maryland.The contractor, Automated Wagering International Inc., is facing hefty fines over computer problems that have kept the Arizona lottery from collecting more than $14 million in instant ticket receipts from stores.

Concluding a hard-fought bidding process, the state today selected a Rhode Island firm to supply a new computer system for the state lottery at a projected cost of about $61 million over five years.In a price discrepancy that surprised state officials, GTECH Corp.'s winning bid was more than $20 million below the only other bidder, Control Data Corp., a New Jersey company that currently runs the state lottery's computer system."If they can do it at that price and make money, maybe we have to reconsider our place in this business," said Marcel Helou, vice president for sales at Control Data, who was present in Annapolis today when the winning bid was announced.

The company that landed the controversial contract to brin keno to Maryland next month has come to dominate the lottery business throughout the nation with a widely acclaimed product and a big-spending approach that has drawn the scrutiny of two federal grand juries.Since it was founded in 1980, GTECH has earned respect -- and rising profits -- in its industry for a laser-like devotion to selling lottery computers, the only product it makes.The Rhode Island-based company controls 70 percent of the lottery computer industry.

The Maryland lottery urged yesterday that top state officials award the agency's computer contract to Automated Wagering International, a deal that could save taxpayers almost $53 million over the next five years.Lottery Director Lloyd W. Jones said his agency has concluded that the Atlanta based firm has the technical and financial ability to run the state's $1.1 billion-a-year lottery operation. "AWI can do everything that it said it could," he said.Lottery officials spent five weeks investigating AWI's operations in other states, its corporate finances and its proposal for Maryland.

GTECH Corp. is protesting its apparent loss of Maryland's lucrative lottery contract to a competitor that offered to do the job for half the price.In a letter to the state Tuesday, GTECH charged that a rival firm, Automated Wagering International, failed to meet various requirements set by lottery officials.Among its complaints, GTECH alleges that AWI's lottery tickets do not have enough colors on them and that its proposed computer plant in Baltimore lacks the required number of parking spaces.